Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Monday, 25 November 2019
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - YouTube Reflections
In times of great danger, stress, and hardship it is
natural for persons and communities of faith to turn to God and to the future
for hope, for the promise of deliverance. However, idle preoccupation and
speculation of what will happen at the end times is not called for. It is a distortion
of the Gospel message of Jesus who asks that we concern ourselves not with
gossip and guesswork, but in how we must do what we have to do in the
present.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - Are you so concerned about the next life that you are not living fully this life?
To read the texts click on the texts: Dan 2:31-45; Lk 21:5-11
Luke follows Mark 13:1-8 quite closely
in these verses, though he also makes some changes. While in Mark 13:1 Jesus
comes out of the Temple and predicts its destruction when his disciples point
to it magnificence, in Luke, Jesus is within the Temple when he predicts its
destruction when some (not the disciples) speak of its magnificence (21:5-6).
This is why unlike in Mark 13:3 he is not on the Mount of Olives opposite the
Temple, but within its precincts when he is asked about when this will take
place (21:7).
Mark 13:3 has Peter, James, John and Andrew who ask this
question; Luke has the people pose the question. Jesus responds by stating not
the hour when this will take place, but by issuing a set of three warnings.
The
first warning is not to allow oneself to be led astray and be led into
believing that the ones’ who come in his name are the Messiah.
The second
warning follows the first: they must go after these false Messiahs.
The third
warning is not to be terrified when they hear of wars and insurrections,
because they are part of God’s plan in bringing about the kingdom and must out
of necessity happen before the final coming.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - Dan 2:31-45; Lk 21:5-11
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - Dan 2:31-45; Lk 21:5-11
Sunday, 24 November 2019
Monday, November 25, 2019 - YouTube Reflections
The
true measure of gifts is not how much is given but how one gives.
It
is not the amount that one gives but the spirit in which the gift is given.
The
true gift is to give everything one has.
Monday, November 25, 2019 - Will you forego one meal this week and give what you save to someone less fortunate than you?
To read the texts click on the texts: Dan 1:1-6,8-20; Lk 21:1-4
Jesus’ comment on the widow’s offering follows immediately after his
condemnation of the scribes, who “devour widow’s houses”. Luke omits most of
Mark’s introduction to the widow’s offering (see Mark 12:41).
In the new scene,
which Luke brings about by his comment that “He (Jesus) looked up and saw”,
Luke introduces two sets of characters: the rich contributors and a poor widow.
The action of both is the same. However, the size or amount of the gifts of the
rich contributors is not mentioned, but it is explicitly stated that the widow
put in two lepta, the smallest copper coins then in use.
It would have taken
128 lepta to make one denarius, which was a day’s wage. Two lepta would
therefore have been worthless. In a twist reminiscent of many of Jesus’
parables, Jesus states that the widow who put in what seems like a worthless
amount has put in more than any of the rich contributors.
The following
statement clarifies how this could be. They contributed out of their abundance,
but she out of her poverty. They contributed gifts she contributed herself
Monday, November 25, 2019 - Dan 1:1-6,8-20; Lk 21:1-4
Monday, November 25, 2019 - Dan 1:1-6,8-20; Lk 21:1-4
Saturday, 23 November 2019
Sunday, November 24, 2019 - Christ the Universal King - YouTube Reflections
We
can welcome Christ the King by removing from our minds and hearts anything that
will prevent us from receiving and accepting him. We can do this by removing
selfishness and self-centeredness that makes us seek only our own good rather
than the good of others. We can do this by reaching out in love and forgiveness
as he did, even when on the Cross. Will we ready our minds and hearts to
receive our King?
Sunday, November 24, 2019 - CHRIST THE UNIVERSAL AND ETERNAL KING - What one action will you do today to show that you are readying to receive Christ the King?
To read the texts click on the texts: 2Sam 5:1-3; Col 1:12-20; Lk 23:35-43
The
feast of Christ the Eternal King was introduced through the encyclical Quas
Primas – (“In the first”) of Pope Pius XI on December 11, 1925. One main purpose of the encyclical was to
communicate hope to a world which seemed to be giving into despair. Another purpose was to give the world a whole
new idea of kingship, dominion and authority. There could be no better model of
kingship which the Church could put before the world than Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ, the servant king.
This
feast is celebrated every year on the last Sunday in Ordinary time. It brings
to a close the Ordinary time of the liturgical year and it begins the
preparation for Advent and the coming of the redeemer child at Christmas.
The
readings for today all speak of Kingship. The first reading tells of the
kingship of David who had been anointed king over Judah and now, over the
northern tribes of Israel. Thus, David becomes king over all of Israel.
However, even as he is anointed king, he is reminded of the kind of king that
the Lord wants him to be, namely a Shepherd king. He began life as a shepherd
of the flocks of his father. Now, he is
shepherd over the people. Like the shepherd looks after his flock and leads
them, so David will look after his people and lead them. The anointing of David
as king is not something done on a mere whim. It is the Lord who ordained it. It is the Lord who said that David would be
shepherd and rule over Israel. David had shown his care for his people when he
led them out and brought them to the glory that they now experience.
The
kingdom that God established in David promised newness. The shape of power in this
kingdom will be governed by shepherding and covenant making. Israel’s future
hope has, for the moment, become its present hope. This present hope was made
even more visible when God chose and anointed Jesus to be king, not only over
Israel but over the whole of humanity. Like David before him, Jesus would also
be a shepherd of the people. The
covenant that he made with God would be a covenant on the Cross. It would be an
eternal covenant, one that no amount of negatives could ever erase.
The
Gospel text of today brings out this truth powerfully. Through the irony of the
taunts of the leaders and soldiers, Luke highlights both Jesus’ real identity
and the true meaning of his death. The leaders and soldiers think that they are
ridiculing Jesus. They think that they are making fun of him. However, even as they do this, they are
unaware that this is exactly the kind of king that he has come to be. Just as Jesus had taught that those who lose
their lives for his sake would save them, so now he is willing to lose his life
so that all might be saved. Jesus’ death did not contradict the Christological
claims; it confirmed them. For him to have saved himself would have been a
denial of his salvific role in the purposes of God. Both what is said and what
is done at the cross, therefore, confirm the truth about the one who is
crucified: He is the Christ, the King of the Jews, the Saviour of the World.
This
salvation that Jesus effected on the Cross is made even more visible and more
tangible in the response of Jesus to those crucified with him. Though rebuked
by one of the thieves, Jesus does not react negatively. He is willing to accept
even this taunt. The pronouncement that Jesus makes to the thief who asks for
remembrance is solemn. It is the last of the six “Amen” sayings in Luke and the
only one addressed to a person. It is also the last of the “Today”
pronouncements. That “Amen” and “Today” have been used together is an
indication that the pronouncement is emphatic and that there is to be no delay. What Jesus promises will happen now.
The
salvation pronounced to one of the thieves on the Cross is also the salvation
being pronounced to each of us who are willing to receive it. This is because,
through his passion and death, Jesus has rescued us, as the letter to the
Colossians points out. He has rescued us
from the power of darkness and sin. He
has transferred us into the kingdom of light and all that is good. It is
therefore, in the visible image of Jesus Christ that we can comprehend who God
is and what God wants to do for each of us. God wants the whole of creation to
be reconciled in Jesus. God wants all of creation to be saved in the shepherd
and self-sacrificing king.
As
we come to the close of another liturgical year, and as we prepare to welcome
Christ our eternal king, we need to realize that our king can come only if we
are willing to open our hearts and minds wide to receive him. We can do this by
removing from our minds and hearts anything that will prevent us from receiving
and accepting him. We can do this by removing selfishness and self-centeredness
that makes us seek only our own good rather than the good of others. We can do
this by reaching out in love and forgiveness as he did, even when on the Cross.
Will we ready our minds and hearts to receive our King?
Friday, 22 November 2019
Saturday, November 23, 2019 - YouTube Reflections
Jesus’ words
can thus be approached from a positive side. The God who created human life,
including the institution of marriage, has also provided for life after death
for those who have cultivated the capacity to respond to God’s love. The
biblical teaching is that life comes from God. There is nothing in or of the
human being that is naturally or inherently immortal. If there is life beyond
death, it is God’s gift to those who have accepted God’s love and entered into
relationship with God in this life: They “are children of God, being children
of the resurrection”
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